Category Archives: Drug Testing

Welcome to Lawrence, KU students! If you’re a freshman, welcome to this great city we call home! If you’re a returning undergraduate or graduate – we’re glad to have you back! We hope everyone had a safe summer and are ready for another year of classes at KU!

Welcome back students!

To welcome you back, we wanted to give you a handy guide for resources around town when it comes to your health.

No insurance? No problem.

If you’re a student at KU and are needing several lab tests run, we can do that for you, even if you don’t have insurance. We realize not all students can afford health insurance, yet sometimes you still need medical tests. Our Lawrence location offers students the chance to get a wellness test or drug test without any insurance required. Plus, everything is confidential. Nobody has to see you come in, and you get quick results in no time.

Summer is finally upon us! Many around the KU campus are packing up and heading home, resting up after a long semester and grueling week of finals. While some choose to stay around Lawrence and take summer classes, many of you are heading home for summer jobs and internships.

College students, be careful this summer.

While you may take a break from school and classes over summer, you typically don’t take a break from one another. Guys and gals will be hanging out this summer. And the outcome? Let’s just say embarrassing Facebook posts and funny stories told to your future kids won’t be unlikely. While “living it up” during the last few college years seems like a blast, make sure you play it safe in a few important areas:

Practice Safe Sex or Abstinence

We’ve blogged about STDs before and how they’re not just a teenage problem. One in four on a college campus has an STD, so be careful if you’re in a relationship this summer that gets sexually active. Your birth control pills may prevent pregnancy but they won’t prevent you getting an STD. Usually condoms can prevent their exchange. If you’ve been with someone with an STD or suspect you might have one, get an STD test.

Don’t Drink Too Much

Actually, if you’re 21, avoid drinking all together. And if you’re over 21, watch your alcohol consumption. Not only because the people you hope to hire you in a few years will be checking your Facebook for those crazy pictures, but also your future job may require mandated alcohol testing. Don’t pick up bad habits now, stay focused on school, and if you’re of age to drink, drink in moderation.

Stay Away from Weed

A study was just released saying teenagers are starting to see marijuana usage as “normal,” and that more have “tried” marijuana over cigarettes. Statistically, 1 in 10 teens smokes weed. You’re a teenager when you enter college, and it’s likely that your teenage habits continue as you get into your 20s. And if you’re not the 1 out of 10, it’s likely that it relates to one of your friends. While you may think smoking weed is no big deal, it’s actually a really big deal. Accident and injury can come from this recreational habit. It can fog your memory and make you fail a drug test. And there is some truth to that whole “gateway drug” thing.

While there’s a whole slew of other risks to watch out for this summer, these are the ones we urge college students to consider this summer. We see a lot at our Lawrence, KS walk-in lab. And even if we don’t see you this summer while you’re on break, know that we’re still thinking about you and hope you’re playing it safe.

It’s about that time of the year, and coming off this past weekend of 4/20… you might be having thoughts that smoking a little weed is what you need to get by and survive the upcoming weeks. However from our experience as a drug testing lab, we’ve actually seen the adverse effect of weed. And while drugs & alcohol may seem to momentary relax you and release your inhibitions, it can actually backfire. Especially when it comes to college and finals. Here are a few reasons why:

Pot smoking can backfire... especially on finals week

1. Your Summer Internships Might Require Drug Testing

More and more employers are cracking down on drugs & alcohol in the workplace, and that includes the college student interns. Statistics show that over 70% of drug users are employed, and the age group most rapidly using drugs AND entering the workforce is YOUR generation. With that being said, employers are not naive to suspect your drug use. And so some of them are actually testing for it. Don’t blow your future by taking a swig on a joint. Find other ways to calm down.

2. Pot Can Actually Hurt Your Memory

Finals week is a time where you need to remember a lot of things. So smoking weed is actually going to have the opposite effect. You need your brain to be sharp and ready to spit out information for exams and essays; not clouded and foggy. To keep your mind sharp, go exercise and eat a very healthy diet of fruit & veggies and healthy fats.

3. You Could Get Busted

Cops are not idiots when it comes to college students and weed smoking. Just look at the drug bust in Kansas City this past weekend over 4/20 – they’re on to drug users and know what to look for. As you work hard all semester and invest in an education, don’t throw your money and time away by using drugs. Having drug use on your public record will appear in background checks and can hurt you in the long run. Play it save, stay away from the drugs.

We realize on a college campus, a “little” pot use doesn’t seem like a big deal these days. Especially with so much chatter about its legalization. However, you need to know that it’s still illegal to smoke in Kansas, it should not be found on the campus of KU, and if you use it an get caught you can get in serous trouble – in more ways than one.